RTS supports United for Dutch football

Dutch broadcast service provider United is responsible for coverage of the Netherlands’ highest football league, the Eredivisie, and relies on RTS equipment, from Dutch distributor Axon, for its communications infrastructure.

Dutch broadcast service provider United is responsible for coverage of the Netherlands’ highest football league, the Eredivisie, and relies on RTS equipment, from Dutch distributor Axon, for its communications infrastructure.

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Dutch broadcast service provider United is responsible for coverage of the Netherlands’ highest football league, the Eredivisie, and relies on RTS equipment, from Dutch distributor Axon, for its communications infrastructure. Of the nine Eredivisie matches played each week, United has for the last 15 years been in charge of broadcasting seven, with up to 15 employees and ten cameras involved each time. Despite the years of experience, each new production is as demanding and nerve-racking as the first, thanks to the constant challenge of tight schedules. “When we arrive at the stadium on match day, we have to set up our equipment immediately,” said United’s Manager Operations Sports and Events, Bolke Burnaby Lautier. “A 15-minute test follows, during which every item of equipment must be functioning flawlessly as by then the start of the broadcast is imminent and little time remains to put things right – especially since, as well as our own staff, other studios along with their respective presenters all have to be integrated into the network.” To satisfy the demands of the Eredivisie contract, United deploys its entire fleet of OB trucks, with the larger HD vehicles – OB6, OB8, OB12, OB15 and the leviathan OB14 – assuming the lion’s share of responsibilities. In each of these mobile control rooms, the intercom system plays a decisive role. It is the first thing that is switched on upon arrival at the stadium and the last that is shut down at the end. Only when the intercom system is fully functional does the set up of the rest of the equipment begin. The communications centrepiece in each case – depending upon the size of truck – is either an RTS Advanced Digital Audio Matrix (ADAM) with a 144x144 or 64x64 port configuration or an RTS Cronus matrix with 64x 4 ports. Somewhere between 11 and 31 keypanels from RTS’ KP-12 and KP-32 series are linked to each matrix, whether ADAM or Cronus. AIO-16, AES-3, Madi-16+ and RVON-16 VoIP interface cards are fitted for ease of trunking, and considerably expand the communication capabilities of each system. The inventory of the various trucks also includes numerous RTS 2W/4W interfaces and RTS beltpacks. “The quality of RTS systems is simply tremendous,” said Burnaby Lautier. “They are technically sophisticated, very easy to set up and extremely reliable,” which is particularly important. “During a live event, like a football match, there’s no such thing as a replay head. It is essential therefore that all persons involved in the production be able to hear their interlocutors clearly. Our staff is constantly lauding the level of communications comfort afforded by RTS equipment,” he stated. – David Foxwww.axon.tvwww.rtsintercoms.com